Cape secession is, in my opinion, a radical and far-fetched idea as things stand.

However, there are policies — that have all either been proposed or explored by the ANC — which, if implemented, would make the idea very appealing to millions of SAns. Here's a list.

(1) The large-scale expropriation of private land without compensation for redistribution by the state.

(2) Compelling people to invest their pension funds in failing state-owned enterprises and corrupt infrastructure projects — again, a kind of expropriation of property.

(3) The implementation of a National Health Insurance model that removed people's freedom of choice to access private healthcare.

(4) The nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank.

There are other, minor ones. But — in my view — the implementation of any one of the above four policies will be so destructive that people will seek radical alternatives to rule by ethnonational-socialists.

If that radical change is not able to come from a national election — a fact that one seriously has to consider, given current voting patterns in South Africa — people are going to look for other ways to ensure their freedom, safety and economic security.

Cape independence is only one such alternative. But it certainly seems like the one liberally-minded people are likely to find most compelling — assuming, of course, that an independent Cape doesn't become a white or coloured ethno-state.

Many people are still deeply attached to a vision of a non-racial, free and prosperous state in Southern Africa with a capable government. When that idea becomes impossible because of bad ethnonational-socialist policy, those people will look for alternatives.

And while a possible alternative is on the table — regardless of how far-fetched, seemingly unviable or potentially problematic it is — it should be thought through seriously and bravely, evaluated fairly, and not just arrogantly dismissed. That would be a serious mistake.